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Purchasing groceries on HappyFresh mobile app

AEON Malaysia continues to step up its ecommerce initiatives. It previously announced partnership with Honestbee, and now is allowing customers to buy groceries via the HappyFresh mobile app. Users will be able to choose from approx. 50,000 products on the platform.

Promotions to drive engagement

To celebrate the partnership, HappyFresh customers who buy from AEON’s participating outlets will receive discounts starting from MYR$20. Furthermore, first time customers will also enjoy free delivery and a MYR$50 voucher.

Hu Hun Hui, HappyFresh Malaysia’s Managing Director, said, “Over the years, we have seen an increase in our customer base as we introduce new partners. With AEON onboard our platform, we are confident they will further add value to our service of delivering the best to our customers.”

Retailers partnering third party service providers

In November last year, we outlined partnerships shaping the online future as one of the five key trends to watch. Retailers are partnering with third party service providers delivering fulfilment and benefits. Besides AEON, HappyFresh also works with GCH Retail, Tesco, Village Grocers and specialty stores.

We round up the latest trading updates and news for Japan's four largest retailers, Seven & i Holdings, FamilyMart UNY, Lawson and AEON.

Seven & i posts 12.5% increase in revenue

Seven & i Holdings has released a strong set of annual results (ending 28 February 2019), posting a 12.5% increase in operating revenue to JPY6,791.2bn (US$60.7bn), with operating income up 5.1% to JPY411.5bn (US$3.7bn).

Revenue from its domestic CVS operations grew modestly at 2.9%, with existing store sales rising for the eighth consecutive year at 1.3%. Strong growth categories were frozen food, rice products and sandwiches. Seven-Eleven Japan continues to focus on expanding counter, refrigerators and frozen food sales area. Network expansion slowed compared to recent years, adding net 616 stores to reach 20,876 nationwide. It is also set to enter Okinawa on 11th July, the only Japanese prefecture where the retailer's presence is missing. The retailer plans to open 50 new stores next fiscal year and reach 250 by 2024.

Sales at the retailer's main supermarket banner, Ito Yokado, was flat at 0.1% YoY. It ended the fiscal year with 159 stores across Japan, five fewer than the previous year. Further closures are expected, with the retailer forecasting to end FY2020 with 157 stores as it continues to reform and restructure the business. While total convenience store sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2018 increased 27.4% to JPY3,993.2bn (US$35.7bn), thanks to the acquisition of Sunoco stores. Gasoline sales was up 47%, and existing store sales increased 1.9%.

Seven & i continues to bring new initiatives to its stores to offer shoppers greater convenience. In July, it plans to add a payment function to SEJ APP. A 7pay app is set to launch in October for external participating stores. As part of the retailer's digital strategy, it plans to develop the function further by integrating the payment app among Group companies' applications by Spring next year.

FamilyMart UNY: revenue falls but income rises 23.7%

FamilyMart UNY posted a 3.1% fall in gross operating revenue to JPY617.7bn (US$5.5bn), but core operating income increased 23.7% to JPY51.5bn (US$460.2m) (mainly attributed to the sale of UNY hypermarket business). More profitable operations and post-merger activities in Japan have been key focus areas rather than opening new stores. Newly converted FamilyMart stores recorded higher daily sales, as well as stronger customer footfall than pre-conversion. FamilyMart UNY ended the fiscal year with 16,430 stores in Japan, 802 fewer stores than last year. The retailer's overseas network grew steadily, with 189 new stores to reach 3,357 in Taiwan and 372 new stores in China to reach 2,569.

Hypermarket operations in Japan are classified as a discontinued business, after Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation (PPHI) (Don Quijote) completed full acquisition of UNY on 4th January. The retailer has also released a statement outlining the merger of FamilyMart UNY Holdings Co., Ltd. and FamilyMart Co., Ltd. This will change the retailer's trade name to FamilyMart Co., Ltd effective from September 1, 2019.

FamilyMart UNY has outlined four key areas of focus: enhancing support for franchised stores, strengthening store profitability, moving forward with the shift to digital and promoting business collaboration with Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation (PPHI) (Don Quijote).

Under the enhancing support for franchised stores strategy, it will focus on store investment to drive efficiencies in-store. There are approx. 1,000 FamilyMart stores in Japan equipped with self-checkout registers in response to increasing labour shortages. It is also beginning to test different business operating hours for its stores. For its moving forward with the shift to digital strategy, the retailer will launch a FamiPay smartphone app in July. The FamiPay app will allow customers to make transactions using the retailer's "FamiPay" digital currency. The app will look to improve customer convenience by offering discounts and coupons exclusively to app users.

Lawson posts 6.2% increase in sales

Lawson continues to be the fastest growing retailer amongst the big four in Japan. It recorded a 6.2% increase in net convenience stores sales to JPY2,424.5bn (US$21.7bn), and 6.6% rise in operating revenue to JPY700.6bn (US$6.3bn). This was mainly driven by new store openings, with a net increase of 667 stores to reach 14,659 convenience outlets across Japan. Existing-store sales in Japan (excluding ticket and gift-card sales etc.) declined by 0.5% YoY as customer numbers declined. However, average customer spend increased, with strong sales of rice balls and boxed meals, and growth in night-time food options where the retailer has been upgrading.

Operating profit fell 7.7% YoY to JPY60.8bn (US$543.4m) following investment in new POS cash registers into all stores to drive efficiencies to in-store cash management, plus costs relating to the launch of Lawson Bank. Store numbers overseas increased by a net 614 to 2,171 stores, with expansion mainly coming from China, where it operates in Shanghai, Chongqing, Dalian, Beijing, Wuhan and Hefei.

Lawson is looking to establish a more profitably model across its international operations, targeting 5,000 stores by FY2021. In China, it plans to build scale through regional and franchise agreements, while in Southeast Asia, it hope to develop win-win partner relationships to expand its store network.

Transforming its products is a key priority for Lawson. It is changing nutritional and information labelling, e.g. low salt and low-carb logos, and is also reducing food waste and the use of plastics. Furthermore, it will have a stricter new store opening criteria ongoing to drive stronger profitability. The retailer plans to open 700 new stores next fiscal year but close the same number in Japan. This will be a significant change to the last five years, having averaged a net 668 new stores YoY.

Lawson plans to use digital technologies to boost store efficiency, particularly with rising costs and labour shortages. In July, Lawson will test unstaffed stores during the early hours. In FY2019, Lawson will use its new POS registers to enable customers to self-checkout by reading product barcodes. This system is expected be rolled-out to all stores by the end of 2019. Lawson plans to introduce its own mobile payment service, “Lawson smartphone cash register” to allow customers to pay by mobile app.

AEON posts 1.5% increase in revenue

AEON has posted a 1.5% increase in operating revenue to JPY8,518.2bn (US$76.1bn), with operating income rising 0.9% to JPY212.3bn (US$1.9bn). The performance of the retailer's GMS Business was flat, posting operating revenue of JPY3,080.6bn (US$27.5bn). Operating revenue from its Supermarket Business, which includes Maxvalu and Ministop convenience chain, fell 0.2% to YoY. The retailer's International Business, which includes operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong, recorded robust revenue growth of 4.5% to JPY437.5bn (US$3.9bn).

AEON's Health & Wellness Business, which operates under Welcia Holdings Co., Ltd continued to perform strongly, highlighting growing demand in this segment. Operating revenue increased 11.7% to JPY793.9bn (US$6.6bn) YoY, with a net 426 new stores to reach 4,964 across the business. The retailer ended the fiscal year with 1,878 and 2,050 Welcia and Tsuruha stores respectively.

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The Aeon Group, one of Japan's largest retailers, is to launch a network of smart stores that are capable of anticipating what customers are most likely to buy when they enter the store.

Data-driven smart stores

Facial recognition is widely used in China, mostly in cashless payment. Whereas in Aeon China’s smart stores, it is to be used to recognise shoppers upon entry. This then triggers personalised product recommendations and digital coupons to be displayed on shoppers’ smartphones, based on shoppers’ shopping habits and digital payment history. This approach has the benefit of resulting in good redemption rate, which will in turn drive same store sales.

EPOS (electronic point of sale) data will also be used for automatic inventory management to make sure products are in stock. To further keep the costs down, all checkout counters are unmanned.

The retailer plans to convert 80 of its outlets in China into smart stores over the next few years.

Establish required capabilities to compete in China

The group is to set up Aeon Digital Management Centre this month in Hangzhou, where Alibaba’s HQ is also based. The centre is dedicated to the development of the technologies needed for the smart stores. Meanwhile, Aeon is planning an online supermarket and a cross-border ecommerce platform to be launched in China this year.

Data generated from these digital operations will increase the retailer’s expertise and capabilities to compete in China, a breeding ground of technology-driven retail businesses.

Aeon also has plans to bring the smart store concept to its stores in Japan and South East Asia.

Daesang formed Ministop Korea with Aeon Group in 1997. It sold 55% stake plus management right to Aeon Group in 2003. Aeon Group had attempted to sellMinistop Korea in 2018. The sale process was suspended in January 2019 due to the disagreement over the sale price with shortlisted contenders including two Korean retail giants Lotte Group and Shinsegae Group.

Competitive landscape

Its performance has been deteriorating and suffered large profit decline (down by 23% year-on-year in 2017) due to fierce local competition and heavy royalties paid to Aeon.

Driven by an increase of single-member and two-people households, the number of convenience stores in South Korea has risen sharply in recent years. To curb excessive competition, South Korea’s FTC (Fair Trade Commission) approved a set of voluntary rules in December 2018 to ease saturation and prevent reckless new openings.

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